Diving seals are extraordinary animals. They are able to avoid hypoxia and the effects of oxygen deprivation far more efficiently than the vast majority of mammals. One of the kings of the diving world is the elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). These animals are capable of performing dives of up to two hours in duration (1) and have been recorded diving to depths of 1.5 kilometers (2). Per...

PURPOSE Swimming goggles increase the intraocular pressure (IOP) via the periorbital frame pressure and suction effect. In comparison, diving masks have a larger frame rim and incorporate the nose. The exact effect(s) of diving masks on IOP is unknown. This study evaluates the influence of diving masks on IOP in normal, healthy subjects. METHODS Tonometry was performed in both eyes of all sub...

Kvadsheim, Petter H., Lars P. Folkow, and Arnoldus Schytte Blix. Inhibition of shivering in hypothermic seals during diving. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 289: R326–R331, 2005. First published March 10, 2005; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00708.2004.—The mammalian response to hypothermia is increased metabolic heat production, usually by way of muscular activity, such as shivering. Seals, howeve...

Hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning (HBO-PC) can protect the heart from injury during subsequent ischemia. The presence of high loads of venous gas emboli (VGE) induced by a rapid ambient pressure reduction on ascent from diving may cause ischemia and acute heart failure. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of diving-induced VGE formation on cardiac stress marker levels and the ca...

BACKGROUND Diving operations are technically complex, and the underwater environment poses a high risk of fatal or near miss accidents. Furthermore, long-term effects of diving on bone, the central nervous system and the lung have been observed in divers who have not experienced any diving-related accidents. AIMS To compare total and cause-specific mortality among Norwegian professional diver...

INTRODUCTION An individual case review of diving-related deaths reported to have occurred in Australia in 2004 was conducted as part of the DAN Asia-Pacific dive fatality reporting project. METHOD The case studies were compiled using reports from witnesses, the police and coroners. In each case, the particular circumstances of the accident are provided, and also details from the post-mortem e...

Diving practices of a group of indigenous people living on Thailand's west coast were investigated. Village chiefs were first interviewed using a questionnaire. Three hundred and forty-two active divers were then interviewed by health care workers using a second questionnaire. Field observation was used to further develop information and confirm diving practices. Divers in 6 villages, whose bas...

BACKGROUND The American Academy of Underwater Science (AAUS) constitutes the single largest pool of organizations with scientific diving programmes in North America. Members submit annual summaries of diving activity and any related incidents. METHODS All diving records for a 10-year period between January 1998 and December 2007 were reviewed. Incidents were independently classified or reclas...

IAN, Y. C. Autonomic neruous control of cardiovascular response during diving in the rat. Am. J. Physiol. 227(3): 601-605. 1974.-The diving response of the unanesthetized rats was produced by submerging the head up to eye level in 30°C water by head-down tilting. The head-down tilting without head immersion served as the predive control. A steady response of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (...

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of forced diving on cardiac dynamics in a diving mammal by evaluating cardiac output and heart rate. We used MR Imaging and phase contrast flow analysis to obtain accurate flow measurements from the base of the aorta. Heart rate (fh) and cardiac output (Q) were measured before, during and after dives in four restrained juvenile northern elephant s...